Family size, milieu, and intellectual development

Abstract

The influence of family size and socio-professional milieu on children's intellectual development was studied, and the following conclusions were made: The unfavourable effect of a large family size on the intellectual performance of the children is not present in the higher social classes. In all other social classes the optimal situation is that of limited family size, with a threshold of three children. The relation between family size and intellectual performance is linear, rather than curvilinear. Family size and the fathers' professional milieu are inter-dependent and mutually reinforcing in the determination of the childrens' intellectual capacities. The fathers' professional environment operates through its cultural rather than through its economical attributes.